Shipping-case-stitching machine.



H. R. BLISS & L. JOHNSTON.

SHIPPING CASE STITCHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-13, 1914.

1,174,948, 4 Patented Mar. 7, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I- H. R. BLISS & L. JOHNSTON.

SHIPPING CASE STITCHING MACHINE- APPLICATION FILED AUG-13, 1 914.

1,174,9Q3. Patented Mar. 7, 1 916.

. I I 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- I FF" I II 1594 I v I WITNESSES 7 2 gg ig f W w fisiiei I Continuation of application their meeting edges.

been evidenced by driving HERBERT R. BLISS AND LEONARD J OI-INS-TON,

OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN; SAID JOHNSTON ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE M. TUTTLE, 0F NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK.

SHIPPING-CASE-STITCHING MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HERBERT R. Brass and LEONARD JOHNSTON, citizens of the United States, residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Shipping-Case-Stitching Machines, and declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part'of this specification.

This invention relates to machines for sealing fiber shipping-cases and has for itsobject a machine which will seal a fiber ship ping-case with metallic fasteners. Heretofore it has been customary to seal fiber shipping cases by either gluingthe flaps or else by pasting a paper strip over the flaps at It has long been a desideratum to seal fiber shipping-cases with metallic fasteners such as staples or rivets. Wire stitching machines have long been used to stitch together meeting edges that form the sides of a fiber shipping-case, as it has been recognized that wire stitching affords a very much more secure fastening than gluing. Gluing, pasting or aflixing a paper or sealing strip over a joint in a fiber shipping-case is objectionable because it is unsafe, for in cold weather the glue very often does not stick well, the flaps very often come apart in warm weather, and it is also possible to pry the case open and purloin some of its contents and replace the flaps by applying glue or additional sealing strips so that it is difficult or impossible to tell ally been purloined or whether the loss was due toshortage caused by an error of the consignor. I

The desirability of wire stitching or riveting in a fiber shipping-case has clearly by the eiforts made by inventors to secure such a result. For instance, it has been proposed to seal fiber shipping-cases containing Mason fruit jars the staples through the flaps at places where they may strike the heads or bottoms of the jars and clenching the staples upon the tops or bottoms ofthe jars.

It has also been proposed to use rigid end Specification of Letters Patent.

. members, such as tion of our machine.

Patented Mar. '7, 1916.

Serial No. 793,994, filed October 8, 1913. This application filedAugust 13,

' 1914. SerialNo. 856,522.

wooden end frames and clench the rivets by bridging a steel rule from one rigid end member to the other r1g1d end member. It has also been sug gested to rest the steel rule upon the contents, but a partially filled case could not be sealed in this way and injury would be done to the contents very often.

\Ve have discovered that by using a blade anvil of suitable dimensions that the flaps may be secured over the anvil and the staples driven in and clenched against the anvil without materially bowing the flaps out as the anvil itself takes up scarcely any space. We can seal cases partially filled or completely empty. We have also discovered that this anvil may be rigidly supporttory character, that it is capable of doing the work of clenching the fasteners without any support whatever except that afforded by the rigidly supported end. We have also discovered that'the flexible character of this anvil actually assists in securing a tight closure of the case and in place of being a detriment is very advantageous.

In the drawings, Figure 1, is a sidejeleva- Fig. 2, is a perspective of the anvil showing its free end under a pair of fiber shipping case flaps. Fig. 3, is a fragmentary view of the shipping-case top showing the anvil in section and showing parts of the stitching head. Fig. 4, is a similar view showing the parts in the position they assume when the staple carrier strikes the anvil. Fig. 5, is a similar View showing the parts in the position they as sume when the staple driver strikes the staple. Fig. 6, is a fragmentary view Of the finished case showing how the flaps resume their former position and how they rest practically against the top of the case. Fig. 7, is a plan view of. the shipping case and the anvil showing how first the flaps are drawn tightly together and the initial staplesv placed. Fig. 8, shows the same parts with the box turned around to place the staples in the opposite side.

A wire stitching machine is here shown, but of course anykind of machine for applying metallic fasteners could be used.

(1 represents the upright which is sured at one end, and, notwithstanding its comparat ve thinness and its perceptible vibraof given dimensions: take,

mounted by the horizontal arm I), which terminates at its free end in the stitching head a; the operating parts of this stitching head are not completely shown and will not be completely described as they are well known in the art. Wire spool e carries the wire from which the staples are formed. An electric motor (2, has a pinion meshing with the gear wheel f, which connects With a shaft that runs through the horizontal arm 6 by means of the clutch it operated by the lever and links 9.

In Fig. 2 'is shown the blade-like anvil; of course this may be varied in accordance with the work to be done. We will, therefore describe only a suitable for instance, one of twenty inches. Where such a case is to be sealed we preferably employ an anvil which for the first three and one-half inches from the tip is onequarter inch in thickness, which for the following six inches is fivesixteenths inch in thickness, and which for the succeeding six inches tapers from fivesixteenths of an inch to three-quarters, and

which for the final six inches is three-quarters inch in thickness. This anvil is preferably three-and-one-half inches in width and is twenty-one and one-half inches long. Fifteen inches of the anvil space from the holder p. The anvil is rigidly held to the holder "by the wing nut a2. It is made of tool steel and is provided with a clencher insert 71 of metal better adapted to take the constant. thrust of the staples. During the operation of stapling this anvil perceptibly flexes; in fact the amount of flexure varies between one-eighth and onequarter of an inch.

Referring to Figs. 3, 4 and 5, the advantage of this flexure will be seen. In Fig. '3, the guide of the stitching head is designated 7',- the staple carrier is, the staple itself Z, and

. the driver m, and the blade anvil n. It is seen that the flaps are slightly bowed out when the blade anvil is inserted. In the sequence of operating steps of the stitching machine the staple carrier is comes down first, as shown in Fig. 4, and strikes the flaps and forces the anvil down in the way shown in this figure. At this time the operator may push the sides of the case inwardly, as shown by the arrows of this figure. This causes the flaps to lie parallel to each other, which makes possible the greatest possible amount of over-lapping and consequently the tightest fastening for the flaps that is possible. Whilein this position the driver m comes down and forces the staples through clenched on the anvil as shown in Fig. 5.

In Fig. 6, the condition of the flaps after the sealing has taken place is shown. It will be observed that the flaps liecontiguous to the top of the sides of the case. Two condianvil for a case- 'anvll to use and projects into free tions contribute to this result, namely, the

of the case is known for it may be easily calculated what would be the propersizeof the give the necessary strength for resistance and at the same time do the work with as little bowing out of the flaps as possible.

In Fig. 7, we have showna plan view of the case with thestaple on one side in place. We will now describe be sealed with the same anvil. for it is preferable not to bring the thickened portion under the flaps for it bows them out. The condition of the case in Fig. 7 is, of course, slightly exaggerated for the purpose of illustration, but it shows the flaps are drawn tightly together'when the staples on one side are inserted. The case is then swung around upon a work table (not shown) and the of the anvil'makes possible the to draw the flaps materially bowing them how a large case'may In cases of small dimensions the flaps may be fastened, which is of sufiicient length to run clear through the case; in larger cases it is better practice to run the anvil about half-way if desired, by using an anvil through the one side and then run the anvil half-way through on the other side, the reason for this is that if the anvil were made of sufficient length to go completely through it would have to beso thick that it would tend to bow the flaps out.

An extension 0 protrudes from the said upright a and under the horizontal arm I); a holder p straddles this. This holder 7) has a hand-screw (1 which bears against the abutment r located on the upright a. Inasmuch as the'holder p is pivoted to the projection' o, by turning the screw q againstthe abutnent 1- the'said anvil n is adjusted angularly may be adjusted with with respect to the upright and consequently respect to the stitch- 4 ing head.

culated with respect In the prior art, machines are shown with flexing anvils but they are not designed to or capable of doing the clenching wholly alone,

but theyv are provided with a bed immediately thereunder which is designed to take the brunt of the blows from the fastener setting mechanism. Other machines have also been proposed with rigid anvil arms but they can hardly be said to be blade anvils for they are altogether too thick. These machines are wholly unadapted to seal a ship-' ping case.

Some ofthe claims contain recitals of the 1 position of the anvil relatively to surfaces thereunder for purposes of differentiation from the prior art, but it r'nust'not be understood that this is the onlydiiferenti'ation, because as already pointed out the anvil itself is a wholly difierent thing from any shown in the prior art; yet the differences residein dimensions which vary with the size of the work and consequently it is very difiicultto structurally distinguish from what is old without unduly limiting the invention.

In some cases containing such material, for instance, as tobacco, some little support might be secured from the contents of the case without harming them, but such usage would be within the spirit of our invention for the principle of our invention wouldbe, in the main, appropriated.

What we claim is: v

1. The combination witha. machine for driving metallic fasteners, of an anvil 1n.

the form of a blade of proportions so calto the size of a fiber shipping-case .to be sealed as to underlie overlapping flap portions thereof without leaving 'fastenmg has been. done and the shipping case withdrawn from the. anvil, and a suport for rigidly holding one end of .said anvil positioned with respect to the nearest surface under said anvil a suflicient distance to accommodate the fiber shipping-case to be sealed, the said anvil being dimensioned and constructed to be" capable of taking the impact of the operating parts of the machine without support other than-at its rigidly supported end.

' 2. The combination with a machine for driving metallic fasteners, of an anvil in the form of a blade,

any othersupport v derthe stitching head, substantially as de--- them materlally bowed out when the a support for rigidly holding one end of said anvil so as to allow the greater portion of the length of the anvil to be free atall times from'all underlying portions of the machine, said blade being of a thickness and construction to leave the overlapping flaps of a fiber shipping-case not giaterially bowed out when the fastening is one from the anvil, and the said thickness, dimensions and construction of said blade being such as to secure support from the abovementioned support'to sustain the impact of the fastener driving mechanism of said machine.

3. The combination with amachine hav ing an upright,-a horizontal arm supported holder angularly w1th respect to the upright,

of a blade-like anvil detachably supported in a rigid relation by said holder,'the said blade-like anvil being supported somewhat 80 above the nearest surface under the anvil and extending from the said holder free of to a position directly unscribed.

4. The combination with a. machine for driving metallic fasteners, the form of a blade whose construction is such that it is capable of erceptible flexure and yet is of suificient rigidity without support thereunder to withstand impacts of the operating parts of said machine in driving metallic fasteners, and means for supporting the anvil rigidl at one end and allowing it to project into ree space.

5. The combination with a machine for driving metallic fasteners, of a comparatively flexible anvil in the form of a blade or relatively thin strip, and meansfor rigidly supporting said anvil atone end, the dimensions and construction of said anvil being such'that it may perceptibly flex under'the an of an anvil m chine and yet be capable of clenching the fasteners wholly by the resistance afforded by said supporting means at the anvils end.

In testimony whereof, we sign this speciv resence of two witnesses. ERBERT R. BLISS. LEONARD JOHNSTON.

fication in the Witnesses:

STUART C. BARNES, Acnns M. HIPKINS. 

